ANNUAL REPORT 2006
ta b le o f c ontent s EarthRights International 2006 Annual Report Letter from the Directors................................. 3-4 Highlights of 2006...................................... 5-8 EarthRights Strategies................................... 9-10 Financial Statement..................................... 11-12 EarthRights Staff....................................... 13 EarthRights Board...................................... 14 EarthRights Funders.................................... 14
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTORS Usually we begin this letter with a statement like, This was the best year ever! But 2006 followed an historic year for ERI and indeed, if major proclamations are what you re looking for, 2005 was a tough act to follow. Given that our momentous victory over Unocal came in our 10th anniversary year, we spent much of 2006 answering the inevitable question: So, what s your next big thing? Of course, ERI does not measure the importance of its work by the headlines it makes. We often avoid the spotlight to insure the integrity of our information, the safety of our staff, and the security of our students. Thus, in 2006, ERI s investigative missions to the Peruvian Amazon, the inaugural session of the Mekong EarthRights School, and our 9th graduation ceremony at the Burma EarthRights School happened with little public fanfare. courts, which remain the primary forums offering a shot at justice for corporate complicity in torture, killing and slavery. Yet the fact remains that the U.S. is also a nation that has failed to demand accountability for travesties of justice such as those in Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. Likewise, Burma, Thailand, and other countries where we work, remain under oppressive and military regimes. We still have a lot of work to do. Whether it s changing laws, transforming attitudes, or supporting new earth rights defenders, everything we do at ERI is a big thing. It s a long road, and we couldn t do it without your support. Of course, we didn t avoid the limelight altogether. We were thrilled when H.E. Václav Havel gave Milena Kaneva s documentary about Doe v. Unocal his 2006 Special Award for Human Rights. We attended and Onward! organized worldwide screenings of Total Denial, firm in the belief that the force of our legal work to protect human rights and the environment is diminished if we don t change the attitudes that allow abuses to Ka Hsaw Wa, Chana Maung, Katie Redford 3 occur. We were proud that our work to encourage corporate accountability made steady progress in U.S. 4
Highlights of 2006 ERI launched the EarthRights School-Mekong, bringing emerging leaders from Burma, Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam together to enhance their individual and collective capacities to protect the Mekong River and the communities that rely upon it. ERI investigated earth rights abuses in the Amazon, leading two missions to Peru to document serious health and environmental damage to native Achuar communities arising from oil exploitation in remote regions of the country. ERI defeated Chevron s and Shell s attempts to dismiss our lawsuits against them, advancing our cases against multinational corporations for their complicity in human rights abuses against environmental protestors and others in Nigeria. ERI screened the award-winning documentary, Total Denial, which chronicles our landmark human rights suit against Unocal. The film, directed and produced by Milena Kaneva, was seen by thousands worldwide after it premiered in Prague and won the 2006 Václav Havel Special Award for Human Rights. ERI trained judges and lawyers in Mongolia on strategic advocacy related to the environmental and human rights impacts of natural resource exploitation by corporations. Working with other NGOs in the region, ERI focused international attention on Daewoo s Shwe Gas development plans in Western Burma, and the Salween dam projects in Eastern Burma, through community organizing, Global Days of Action, and lobbying high-level officials. ERI Staff and EarthRights School alumni campaigned against, and contributed to cutting-edge research on, human rights and environmental abuses caused by projects funded by international financial institutions and export credit agencies. ERI worked to strengthen accountability mechanisms for corporations by participating in a consultation in Bangkok and submitting a paper, The International Law Standard for Corporate Aiding and Abetting Liability, to the UN Special Representative on Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. 5 6
ERI Field Staff continued to risk their lives to document abuses in Burma from dams, mining, oil and gas exploration, and logging concessions, resulting in reports, media attention, and policy papers including our report Turning Treasure into Tears. ERI helped draft a new forestry law in Liberia with assistance from our volunteer Cooperating Attorneys Corps. The innovative law includes human rights protections, such as community consultation and benefit sharing, for the first time. The EarthRights School-Burma trained a fresh group of grassroots human rights and environmental advocates to raise their voices locally and internationally, while we proudly watched EarthRights School alumni apply their new knowledge and skills in their own educational, legal and advocacy initiatives. ERI s innovative mission and strategies were honored when founder and Director Katie Redford was selected as a 2006 Ashoka Global Fellow. Ashoka recognizes the world s leading social entrepreneurs individuals and organizations with innovative solutions for solving society s most pressing social problems ERI supported earth rights litigation in U.S. courts by filing amicus briefs and releasing the second edition of our Transnational Litigation Manual. ERI made headlines as our work received international attention through media coverage including Reader s Digest, Fortune Magazine, BBC World Service, The Washington Post, The National Law Journal, The South China Morning Post, The Associated Press, TomPaine.com, Alternet, Irrawaddy Magazine, Women s Wear Daily, Radio Free Asia, The Democratic Voice of Burma, The Times of India, Mizzima News, and Working Mother Magazine. 7 8
Earthrights Strategies Mission Statement EarthRights International (ERI) is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of earth rights. We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training for grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns. Through these cutting edge strategies, ERI seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work. To accomplish this mission, EarthRights takes a three-pronged approach: Justice and Accountability EarthRights uses litigation and other legal mechanisms to hold corporations accountable for earth rights abuses, often perpetrated in the name of development. We also advocate for stronger legal mechanisms for corporate accountability within the international system. In 2006 we continued to pursue justice, representing plaintiffs in cases against Chevron, Shell, and Union Carbide/Dow Chemical for human rights violations overseas. Speaking Power to Power EarthRights uses media, public education and organizing strategies to hold corporate and government human rights and environmental offenders accountable in the court of public opinion. Our goal is to build a broad constituency for the earth and its peoples who will ensure that there are strong legal mechanisms for accountability, and to deter earth rights abuses by highlighting the heavy costs associated with them. Sustaining the Movement for Human Rights and the Environment The EarthRights Schools train new leaders to sustain a strong local and international movement in environmental and human rights protection, while our training of legal and judicial professionals helps ensure that the movement is supported by the rule of law. 9 10
financial statement UNRESTRICTED TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED TOTAL Unrestricted Board Designated Temporarily Restricted Memorial Fund UNRESTRICTED TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED TOTAL Unrestricted Board Designated Temporarily Restricted Memorial Fund Revenues and Other Support Foundation and corporate contributions and fees $ 734,050 $ $ 245,000 $ 20,000 $ 999,050 Gifts from individuals 166,000 166,000 Non-cash contributions 17,032 17,032 In-kind contributions 12,865 11,034 23,899 Interest and dividends 67,770 7,362 75,132 Gain (loss) on investment (19) (19) Unrealized gain (loss) on securities 3,014 3,014 Miscellaneous 5,583 5,583 Net Assets Released from Restrictions Satisfaction of program restrictions 598,716 (575,124) (23,592) Total Revenues and Other Support 1,601,997 (319,090) 6,784 1,289,691 Expenses Program expenses Legal $ 352,672 $ $ $ $ 352,672 Campaigns 356,976 356,976 EarthRights Schools 267,615 267,615 Clark Memorial 23,592 23,592 Management and general 176,548 176,548 Development 143,593 143,593 Total Expenses 1,320,996 1,320,996 Change in Net Assets 281,001 (319,090) 6,784 (31,305) Net Assets, beginning of year 373,598 55,167 2,252,458 111,339 2,792,562 Net Assets, end of year 654,599 55,167 1,933,368 118,123 2,761,257 EarthRights International (ERI) is a nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment. ERI is exempt from federal income taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. forward for general use in the next fiscal year. The fund in the amount of $55,167 (under Net Assets-Board Designated ) has been specified for emergency expenditures authorized by the Board of Directors. The temporarily restricted assets of $ 1,933,368 are earmarked for particular programs and are not available for any other use. This Statement of Activities is excerpted from ERI s audited financial statements by Douglas Corey & Associates, which are available upon request. The Statement of Activities reflects financial activity for ERI for the year that ended January 31, 2007. To briefly summarize this Statement: as of January 31, 2007, ERI has available $ 654,599 (under Net Assets-Unrestricted ) to carry The Daniel C. Clark Memorial Fund in the amount of $ 118,123 is restricted to support graduates of the EarthRights School. 11 12
DESIGNED BY REBECCA SOLL WWW.REBECCASOLL.COM www.earthrights.org U.S. Office 1612 K St. NW Suite 401 Washington, DC 20006 Tel: 202-466-5188 Fax: 202-466-5189 infousa@earthrights.org Southeast Asia Office P.O. Box 123 Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai, 50202 Thailand Tel: 66-81-531-1256 infoasia@earthrights.org Please remember EarthRights International in your donation and estate planning. Contact us for details. Printed on 100% recycled - 30% post-consumer paper, with Earth Pride vegetable-based ink